Chapter 9 Unraveling Social Safety Net

1
Chapter 9Unraveling Social Safety Net

• Main components of social safety net
• Changes eroding social programs
• Choices and challenges today

2
Evolution of Social Programs

• 1941 - Introduction of U.I. program
• 1945 - Family allowance program
• 1952 - Old Age Pension
• 1965 - Canada Pension Plan
• 1966 - Canada Assistance Plan
• 1966 - National Health Care (Medicare)

3
Withering of the Welfare State

• From universal to targeted programs
• From UI to tightened up EI
• Funding of pension programs insufficient
• Cuts in Federal financial support
• freeze on EPF and cap on CAP
• EPF and CAP replaced with smaller CHST
• Provinces also cut financial support

4
A Sick Health Care System?

• Costs of our sickness care system growing with
  aging population, technology, drugs
• Canada Health Act less effective as amount of
  federal money to provinces declines
• Provinces have closed hospitals and beds
• Some have allowed (encouraged?) user fees and
  move to private health care

5
Two Tier Health Care?

• Already here Canada ranks 17th of 28 OECD
  countries in public spending on health
• Is it the only way to shorten the queues?
• Critics claim public portion would suffer
• Danger that core, funded services would shrink,
  with costly ones offered privately
• Would those buying private services resent
  supporting public?

6
Poverty Amidst Plenty

• Social programs have done little to reduce income
  disparities or incidence of poverty
• Special concern about child poverty
• 50 richest more than 5 million poorest
• Controversy over definition of poverty
• Poverty line is related to what others spend
• Another definition is cost of bare necessities
  (Fraser Institute)

7
Social Charter

• A constitutional declaration of certain social
  rights guaranteed to Canadians

8
Is a Social Charter the Answer?

• YES
• prevent erosion by those focused on debt
• ensure equality across provinces
• prevent race to bottom
• protect from pressure of global economy

• NO
• cant bind future governments financially
• government not able to respond to public
• undermines elected representatives
• courts slow, expensive and unaccountable

9
Where Are We Now?

• Our fiscal health has improved, at the cost of
  our social health and social cohesion
• 2000 food banks and many homeless
• Many cuts will end up costing more, especially
  those affecting children
• Many cuts undermine our health
• Decisions too narrowly focused on economic
  objectives